The curtain will fall on Sunday evening, at the Baku Olympic Stadium, on the 2015 European Games. The first in history. A few hours before the outcome, it is still too early to draw up a precise and detailed assessment. But there is no doubt that Azerbaijan succeeded in organizing the original edition of an event intended to establish itself permanently in the international sporting landscape.
Azad Rahimov, the Minister of Sports of Azerbaijan, knows this better than anyone. He did not wait for the last musical notes of the closing ceremony to explain it to the press. “I am very proud of what we have accomplished and the very positive feedback from these Games,” he admitted. One of the objectives of this organization was to make our country better known to a wider audience around the world. An objective that we particularly wanted to achieve with the television coverage of the European Games. »
The Minister of Sports laid out his figures in front of him. And his demonstration took on its full meaning. No less than 61 channels, in 245 countries, broadcast the 2015 European Games. The potential audience for the event reached 823 million households. The opening ceremony alone was broadcast live in 120 countries. “Rather comparable results, I believe, to those of the Sochi Winter Games in 2014,” suggests Azad Rahimov.
According to the minister, Germany decided during the competition to strengthen its television coverage. It was initially planned for around a hundred hours of broadcast with free access. It has been increased to 125 hours. “In Italy, the Sky group has taken the decision to dedicate a specific channel to the Games, Sky Sports Baku 2015,” says Azad Rahimov.
Eloquent. But the country does not want to stop there. Cautious, Azad Rahimov skilfully addresses questions about a possible candidacy for Baku for the Summer Games in 2024. “We will decide by September,” he simply answers. But, candidate or not, the capital presents a very extensive roadmap for the years to come. “Next year, we will organize the world chess championships,” explains the Minister of Sports. Then Baku will receive, in July 2016, its first Formula 1 Grand Prix. On another note, we will host the European Under-17 Football Championships and the Junior Sailing Worlds. Subsequently, we will organize the Islamic Games in 2017 and finally, in 2020, four Euro football matches, including a quarter-final. » Don’t throw any more away.
